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Stephen Hilton had a life most people would kill for — eight years clean, two kids, a scoring career on Hans Zimmer's team (Megamind, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean), and a viral comedy empire he built with his wife, Laura Clery. Then a contractor walked off with the money on a house renovation, COVID sent his meetings to a screen he wouldn't open, and one lie to a doctor for anxiety pills started a cascade that took almost all of it: Xanax, Adderall, painkillers, alcohol, the marriage, and eventually his kids.
This is the whole arc, in his own words — the relapse after years clean, the year he doesn't fully recognize, and the moment that finally turned him around: his nonverbal, severely autistic seven-year-old son, Alfie, climbing over a fence and being found at the grocery store between their two houses, trying to reach his dad. Two days shy of a year clean at this recording, Stephen talks about rebuilding co-parenting with Laura “by the Al-Anon book,” the “wizard school” story he told his daughter, and what it actually took to come back.
In this episode:
· The dream life — Hans Zimmer's scoring team, and building Laura Clery's following from a spare camera
· “I thought I had 10 years. My sponsor pointed out it was really 8.”
· The three most dangerous words: “I got this”
· Checking into rehab with no next of kin
· The son who climbed the fence, and why it was the thing that finally worked
· Co-parenting rebuilt “by the Al-Anon book” — boundaries, the restraining order, not robbing someone of their rock bottom
· The “wizard school” story
· Nine meetings a week, and doing AI animation with his kids now
If you or someone you love is struggling, you're not alone. In the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or SAMHSA's free helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
Guest: Stephen Hilton — film composer & online creator
Host: Tyler Ramsey
Laura Clery's book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter (Simon & Schuster)
Nothing in this episode is medical advice; it's one person's story.
0:00 The Life He Blew Up
2:27 “I Thought I Had 10 Years. It Was 8.”
5:25 One Lie for Anxiety Pills
6:17 The Three Most Dangerous Words
10:22 “I'm Not Going to Do What You Say”
14:29 Rehab, and No Next of Kin
15:48 Two Rehabs at Once
20:05 The First Rock Bottom (Years Earlier)
48:38 The Son Who Climbed the Fence
50:18 What Kids Remember
53:10 Wizard School
62:40 Co-Parenting by the Al-Anon Book
#PunkRockSober #PainfulLessons #StephenHilton #LauraClery #Sobriety #Recovery #Relapse #CoParenting #Autism #MentalHealth
